Budget box



April 1950 E. L. CUMMINGS arm. 2,504,305

BUDGET BOX Filed April 21, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS ETHEL L.CUMMINGS MILLARD M. CUMMINGS April 18, 1950 E. L. CUMMINGS ETIAL BUDGETBOX 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 21, 1947 1i i wmwww Li Nwm q n! l.

ATTORNE Y Patented Apr. 18, 1950- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BUDGET BOXEthel L. Cummings and Millard M. Cummings,

St. Louis, Mo.

Application April 21, 1947, Serial N o.'742,983

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a, device for facilitating budgeting, itsprincipal objectbeing to provide such a device, which we have called abudget box,- by whicha person may at the beginning of the week not onlylayaside sufficient money to take care of theweeks needs, but also keepthe allotment for each single days necessities separate from the rest ofthe Weeks supply of money.

Almost everyone knows at the beginning of a week about what his expensesfor .that week will amount to, and also what .his .day .by day expenseswill be. For instance, Tuesday may be the day on which he must pay his.gas .bill, and perhaps on Thursday he plans to entertain friends, whichwill entail an expense; and so on, andhe can pretty well .foresee at thebeginning of the week what he will need in the way of money. Through theuse of our budget box he can place in one :of a set of .sevencompartments provided therefor the money he expects to spend on Monday,Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday,respectively, there being a separate compartment for each day, and allof the compartments being then locked and controlled by ,a clockmechanism so timedas to open the compartments, one'after another, attwenty-four hour intervals; that is to say, the clock mechanism is-;set,; for example, to openthe Monday compartmenton Monday morning, theother compartments remaining locked, and on Tuesday morning the second,or Tuesday, compartment will open, and so on throughout the week.

.An additional compartment is provided for savings, .and thisis intendedto receive .anysurplus of .money that might, remain at the end of any.day, should the allotment for that days needs exceed expenses, and thissavings-compartment will open. simultaneously with the openin of thecompartment ,for thelast day of the'week. In a drawer, which isindependent of theclock mechanism and always accessible, there may beplaced a sum offmoney forfemergencies which were not anticipated whenthe allotments forthe seven days of the'week were placed in the sevencompartments.

An advantage of our budget box *is'that'it .guards aper's'on using itagainst inadvertently spending in a week in excess of what he'shouldLpermit himself to spend, with reference to the amount of his income,and the daily savings feature helps "to create a reserve fund and thusinspires the .user 'to greater thrift. )Also, there .are many people whowill spend lthoughtlessly and unnecessarily small amounts of money whenthese are easily accessible, and for such peopleour budget box provides.beneficial restraint and tends to inculcate the habit of carefulness inspending.

Fig. l is a perspective view of our budget box as it appears withthecompartments locked and ready foroperatiomand with the lid of the boxin raised position.

Fig. 2 .is .a top plan view .of the open budget box, showing theclock,mec,hanism,,some of the compartments ,beingopen and. vsome olosed,the View being partly broken away to show the mechanism for controllingthe locking feature of the compartments.

Fig. L3 is an enlarged detail view taken on line 3- ..3, Fig. 2.

j-Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view taken 'on line ,4.,l,.Fig-. .2,showing apart of the locking mechanism in locked position. 7

Fig. 5 is-an.enlar:ged .detail view taken on line 5.,5, .Fig. v2,showing part of the locking mechanism in open position.

L6 is ,an enlarged detail view taken on "line 5-45, .Fig. .4.

.Fig. 7 is. an enlarged detail view taken on line 'I"I, Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail View taken .on line 8-8, "Fig.2.

The invention comprises a box having a front wall I Ia rear 'wal1 ;2,end'walls 3 and 4, respectively, a floor which is not visible in thedrawings, andra hollow 1id.5 hinged to the'rear wall of the box, as fat'6. The box may beformed f any suitable material, and 1a -narrow strip'1 of the same materialis-secured against the outsideof the frontanden'd walls of the box at their upper portions and extends slightlyabove the box, as shown at B in-Fig. *1, so that when {the lid -5-isclosed it rests on the top edge of the walls of the box and within thestrip l.

The interior of the box is divided into ten compartments, as follows:Compartment 8 at one end of *the box extends transversely .irom front to'rear o'f 'the box its full "depth; :compartment 9 extendslongitudinally of the box from the side of compartment 8 to the endwa'll =4, and is comparatively shallow, its-=deDth being "approximatelyhalf-the 'depth oi th'e box; compartments I9, "I I, 12, I3, Ill, 15, 16, and l-"I extend transversely of the box from the rear wall thereof tothe compartment-'9. The-compartments 3 and It {to -l=7, inclusive, areprovided with closure members 8" and. I0 to If'l", =res pectively, eachclosurehaving a longitudinallyextending slot -18. All of theicompartments are shownin Fig.

the compartments 9, l5, l6, and I1 being open, and the compartments I9,I2, i3, and i4 being covered by their closure members l9, ll, l2, I3,and I4, respectively. Under the compartment 9, extending its full lengthand from the compartments I!) to IT, inclusive, to the front wall I ofthe box we provide a space for the reception of a drawer D having a knobC for convenience in pulling out the drawer (Fig. 1). The drawer D is arepository for money to be used in an emergency.

A clock mechanism, which I have designated generally by the letter A, ispositioned within the compartment 8, but since this mechanism may be ofany suitable type and does not constitute a part of the presentinvention, it will not be further described except to say that it isadapted to be regulated for the opening of the various compartments atpredetermined intervals, as mentioned in the opening remarks of thisspecification.

The locking mechanism of our budget box is contained in the compartment9, and consists of the following parts:

A cylindrical rod l9 extends from end to end of the compartment 9 and ismounted on and rotatable with a shaft 29, which is secured in one endwall of said compartment and extends through its opposite end wall intothe compartment 8. A

wheel 2| is rigidly mounted on the end of the shaft which extends intothe compartment 8 and is rotatable with said shaft, and between thewheel 2| and the end wall of the compartment 9 a gear wheel 22 is alsorigidly mounted on and rotatable with the shaft 20, the gear wheel 22meshing with a larger gear 23 which is connected with the clockmechanism A, so that when the clock mechanism is in operation it willimpart motion to the gear 23 and its meshing gear 22, and thus throughthe shaft 20 to the wheel 2| and to the rod l9. From the above it willbe understood that the parts 2|, 22, and 23, which are located in thecompartment 8, are not an actual part of the locking mechanism incompartment 9, but serve to activate the locking mechanism, as will belater explained.

On the rounded surface of the rod IS a plurality of small ears 24 ispositioned so that there will be one ear 24 opposite each of thecompartments H) to 11, inclusive, the ears being set diagonally on saidrod, as shown in Fig. 2. Slightly spaced away from the rod, anelongated, rectangular bar 25 extends from end to end of the compartment9, and on the upper surface of said bar a plurality of fingers 26 isprovided, each finger 26 being swingably held in position on the bar 25by a pin 21, and the fingers being so spaced apart that there will beone finger opposite each of the ears 24 and engageable therewith atpredetermined times. At its end nearest the ear 24, each finger isrounded on one side, as shown most clearly at 28 in Fig. 2, and in itsrounded end each of the fingers has a slot 29 extending inwardly a shortdistance from one of its sides.

In the vertical face of the bar 25 which is nearest the rod I 9, andnear the top of this face, we place a plurality of small screws or nailshaving heads 30, and near the bottom of this face of the bar 25 we placea plurality of pins 3|, so that each pin 3| is spaced below one of thenail heads 30 and at an angle thereto. A section of spring wire 32 isengaged with said nail head 30, pin 3|, and a finger 26 by securing oneend of said wire tightly under the nail head 30, then passing said wirearound the pin 3|, and then leading the wire up to the finger 26 andcatching the free end of the wire 32 in the slot 29 of said finger. Weprovide one nail head 30, one pin 3|, and one wire 32 for engagementwith each of the fingers 26, and thus it will be understood that thereis one of these assemblies for each of the compartments In to H,inclusive. The assembly just described is clearly illustrated in Fig.'7.

On the inner surface of the wall 9' of the compartment 9 we mount aseries of eight elements 32*, each of which is swingable on a headed pin33 secured in said wall, so that there is one of the elements 32 foreach of the compartments H] to H, inclusive, and slidably mounted onscrews 34 in said wall 9' a strip 35, preferably of any suitable metal,lies adjacent the wall 9' and between said wall and the elements 32 andspaced slightly above the pins 33. A section of spring wire 36 isengaged with each of the swingable elements 32*- in the followingmanner: One end of the wire 36 is bent around the element 32, as at 31,then wound around the shank of the pin 33, and then its free end is bentdiagonally to rest on an offset 38 on the wall 9', as at 39.

We will now describe the closure members It to IT, and since they areidentical we will refer to a single closure member for facility ofdescription. Each of the closure members is in the form of a thin plateof any suitable material and is of generally rectangular shape, and ofsuch width as to fit snugly between the side walls of its compartment.At its rear extremity the closure member has a small, outwardlyextending tongue 49 adapted to be positioned within a correspondingcut-out 4| in the rear wall of the compartment. The closure member is ofsuch length as to extend from the rear wall of its compartment to theslidable strip 35, so that when the tongue 40 is pushed into its cut-out4| and the closure member is pressed down, it will not only cover itsparticular compartment but also extends to the front Wall of thecompartment 9 (Fig. 1). On the underside of the closure member weprovide a hook 42 which is adapted to engage the free end of the finger.26 which is opposite its particular compartment at predetermined times,as will be hereinafter set forth, the free end of the finger 26 being soshaped as to conform to the shape of the hook. Each of the closuremembers is furnished with a knob K by which it may be lifted, and theslots l8 in the closure members, which have been previously referred to,are diagonally cut as shown in Fig. 8.

The closure member 8 for the compartment 8 is of rectangular shape andof such dimensions as to completely cover said compartment, and has anopening 43 through which characters on the circumference of the wheel 2|may be observed. An elongated closure is provided for the compartment 9,and consists preferably of a metallic strip bent at a right angle toform a horizontal face 44 which covers the compartment 9 and liesunderneath the forward ends of the closure members I0 to H, inclusive,and a vertical face 45 which depends between the wall 9' of saidcompartment 9 and the free ends of the fingers 26. The face 44 has aplurality of apertures 46, one of said apertures being situated aboveeach of the fingers 26.

Inside the lid 5 and opposite each of the compartments H) to H,inclusive, a clip 41, preferably of spring metal, is secured to the lid,for the purpose of retaining near each compartment any memorandaconcerning the expenses of other activities relating to that day.

In the use of our budget box the procedure is as follows:

The compartments III to H5, inclusive, are intended respectively for theseven days of the week from, say, Monday to Sunday, inclusive, and atthe beginning of the week the user places in the various compartmentsthe amount of money he expects to spend on the different days of thatweek. When the money has been deposited in the seven compartments, eachof the closure members it) to H, inclusive, is positioned above itscompartment with its tongue 40 in its cut-out 4|, and its hook 42 abovean aperture 46. The slidable strip 35 has a series of eight inwardlyextending pins 48, one of which is positioned adjacent each of theswingable elements 32 and at one end of said strip 35 it has anupstanding extension 49 by which it may be grasped to impart slidingmovement to said strip, and this sliding movement pushes the slidableelements 32 to a diagonal position by virtue of their contact with thepins 43, thus bringing the beveled ends 50 of said elements 32 intosubstantially horizontal position. With the parts just mentioned in thisposition, the books 42 are pushed down through the apertures in thehorizontal face 44 of the closure for the compartment 9, so that saidhooks will engage the free ends of the fingers 26, which obviouslyretains the ClOSllle members in locked position to close thecompartments II] to ll, inclusive. The strip 35 may then be retracted,but the closure members to H, inclusive, pressing down upon theswingable elements 32, will hold said elements in diagonal position andexerting pressure on the closure members through the action of thespring wire 32. The closure member 8 is placed in position to closecompartment 8, but this closure is not connected with the lockingarrangement just described.

With the money compartments now closed and locked, the clock mechanismis set in operation to open them one after another at twenty-four hourintervals, as follows:

As said before, the wheel 2| is connected to the clock mechanism throughthe gears 22 and 23, so that when the clock mechanism is wound itoperates to revolve the wheel 2| through said gears. Characters, eitherthe figures 1 to 7, inclusive, or the initials of the days of the week,are applied to the circumference of the wheel 2| and may be observedthrough the opening 43 in the closure 8' (Fig. 1), and these charactersare so spaced that the one relating to the particular compartment beinopened will be visible at all times.

As the wheel 2| revolves, it turns with it the rod I9, on which the ears24 are mounted, and the clock mechanism is set in any well known mannerat such a rate of speed that the ears 24 will consecutively engage thefingers 26 opposite them at twenty-four hour intervals, beginning withthe ear and finger opposite the Monday compartment Ill. As the car 24contacts the rounded end 28 of the finger 26, it swings said finger sothat its free end is disengaged from the hook 42, and this permits theelement 32 to push up the end of the closure It! by virtu of the upwardpressure which said element 32 exerts through the spring wire 36. Theclosure may then be lifted from the Monday compartment l0 and the moneyremoved therefrom.

At the end of the next twenty-four hours, this procedure is repeatedwith respect to the Tuesday compartment H, and so on throughout theweek, until on Sunday both the Sunday compartment I6 and the Savingscompartment I! will be simultaneously opened, and if there has been asurplus of money on any preceding day and such surplus has beendeposited in. the Savings compartment l1,. it'maythenbe removed; r

,After' a hook42- has been released from its engaging finger 26, saidfinger is swung back to its initial position through the action of thespring wire 32, and is ready for the next locking operation. ifpreferred, the money for. each day may be depositedin the variouscompartments through the slots Iii after the compartments have beenlocked, and the diagonal cutting of said slots is designed to make itextremely dimcult to shake money out of the compartments once they havebeen locked.

From the above description it will be understood that on each day of theweek the money which has been laid aside for the planned expenditures ofthat day will be available, without possibility of encroachment on thesupply for the other days, as there is no way of opening thecompartments manually short of damaging the budget box.

We claim:

1. A budget box comprising compartments for money and cover plates forsaid compartments, said cover plates having retaining means, elementsfor engagement with said retaining means to hold said cover plates inclosed position, clock mechanism and a member operable thereby forreleasing said retaining means from said elements at predeterminedintervals, upstanding, swingable elements and a lever for swinging saidelements to a diagonal position, and springs for returning saidswingable elements to their upright position upon retraction of saidlever, said swingable elements being adapted to raise said cover platesupon reaching their upright position.

2. A budget box comprising compartments for money and cover plates forsaid compartments, said cover plates having retaining means, elementsfor engagement with said retaining means to hold said cover plates inclosed position, clock mechanism and a cylindrical member rotatablethereby, projections on said cylindrical member for releasing saidretainin means from said elements at predetermined intervals,upstanding, spring-controlled, swingable elements and a lever forswinging said elements to a diagonal position, said elements beingadapted to return to their upright position upon retraction of saidlever to raise said cover plates.

3. A budget box comprising compartments for money and cover plates forsaid compartments, said cover plates being provided with hooks on theirundersides, elements for engagement with said hooks to hold said coverplates in closed position, clock mechanism and a cylindrical memberrotatable thereby, projections on said cylindrical member for engagementwith said elements for releasing said hooks from said elements, saidprojections being so positioned that said hooks will be consecutivelyreleased at predetermined intervals, upstanding, spring-controlled,swingable elements and a lever for swinging said elements to a diagonalposition, said elements being adapted to return to their uprightposition upon retraction of said lever to raise said cover plates.

4. A budget box comprising compartments for money and cover plates forsaid compartments, said cover plates being provided with hooks on theirundersides, swingable, spring-controlled 1. elements for engagement withsaid hooks to hold said cover plates in closed position, clock mechanismand a cylindrical member rotatabl thereby, projections on saidcylindrical member for engagement with said elements to release saidhooks from said elements, said projections being diagonally positionedat certain points on said cylin- 'drical member so that said elementswill be consecutively engaged thereby at predetermined intervals,upstanding, spring-controlled, swingable elements and a lever forswinging said elements to a diagonal position, said elements beingadapted to return to their upright position upon retraction of saidlever to raise said cover plates.

ETHEL L. CUMMINGS. MILLARD M. CUMMINGS.

The following references are of record in the REFERENCES- crmn file ofthis \patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS

